Beaches and Bathing Suits
by cotederpablo
Summary: Ziva in a bikini, a day off in LA and a certain ghost from the past on vacation...what could possibly go wrong?
1. Chapter 1

Best Friends and Bathing Suits

**A/N: This story came to me last night while I was watching Judgement Day (in case you don't know, that's the one where Jenny dies *tear*). My version of the bikini scene. No spoilers. Enjoy and **_**please **_**review!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS.**

"Abby."

The single word escaped Ziva David's lips. Her eyes squinted, her fist clenched around the object she was holding. Determined and sneaky as she was, this was a new level for Abby.

Ziva's eyes darted around the room, and then her vision floated to the window. Her partner, Anthony DiNozzo, stood by the pool with a fruity drink in his hand and a Hawaiian shirt on. She saw him flip out his cell phone and within seconds she received a text from him:

_Going to the bar since you're clearly insisting on staying here. Don't worry, I will still be able to drive. Meet you at the pool in half an hour. T_

When she looked through the window again, he was gone. Now she focused on her next mission: digging through her suitcase. All her clothes were neatly stacked in little piles, but she clawed through them as if they were paper, throwing aside her cargo pants, jeans, t-shirts and pyjamas, but there was nothing else. Relief washed over her. Then the anger returned when her eyes set upon the garment she still held in her hand.

A dark, revealing swimsuit, which she did own and had _somehow _ended up in her suitcase. The only person who had been anywhere near her house after she had packed was Abby. She had come over for dinner the night before and her suitcase had already been packed. It had to have been her.

Ziva glanced out the window again. It was the afternoon; the hottest part of the day, and she was roasting inside her black dress, which she had worn to the funeral and was rather fond of. She certainly wouldn't go swimming, and all she really wanted was to get some sun, maybe read her book. And for once in her life, she just said "why not?"

After slathering on some sunscreen, which hadn't been without difficulty because of the tiny amount of space the bathing suit covered, Ziva lay on one of the chairs and felt the sun warm her skin.

She was quite enjoying herself when she was interrupted by the sound of a camera. Immediately, she knew it was Tony, and she let him have his fun, not moving an inch. She could feel his eyes travelling up and down her body which, she had to admit, was pretty fantastic.

"You're googling again," she stated.

"I'm aware of that," Tony said in reply, taking another picture. How he longed to reach out and touch her beautiful smooth skin. But he knew that if he did, it would most likely result in pain for him.

"Come on, Ziva, we're in LA and the Director gave us the day off. Let's hit the town!"

"We should stay close to home base, just in case she changes her mind." Ziva still hadn't looked away from her book.

Tony sighed. He knew he wasn't going to win this fight.

"Look, at least...talk to me," he said, a little hesitantly.

"Talk to you? About what?"

"I don't know, anything. We're friends, right?" He swallowed and looked her up and down once more. "Since we have the day off, it's like a mini-vacation for us."

Ziva rolled over onto her back and folded her arms behind her head. "OK, talk."

"Ziva, I don't want you to think you have to do this, I was just saying maybe you could be a little more social." He gestured to her book.

She considered his offer. She had never been to LA before, and this was a rare chance. Perhaps it would be a good idea to get out. The Director would always be able to call them, and if she had given them the day off then she probably wouldn't go back on that order. She decided to go up to the hotel room and change, but she couldn't resist the temptation to mess with Tony first.

She rose from her chair and he admired her figure even more. She stepped close to him and made her fingers walk over his shoulder. Their bodies were extraordinarily close together, almost touching.

"What do you have in mind?" she said seductively.

He winked at her, keeping his cool better than she had expected. "You'll see."

She stood there for a second, then walked away, purposely brushing up against his side. She grinned as she left Tony standing there with a blank mind and fixated eyes. She was good.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks to all the people who reviewed this story! **

"The beach?" Ziva was surprised at Tony. She had not expected this.

"Come on, Ziva, the beaches here are some of the best in the world. Let's have a little fun."

He predicted she would simply lie on the sand, but her mind was made up to let loose a little, and within minutes, they were both knee deep in the salty water, splashing playfully. Ziva had discovered that she liked the bathing suit and had kept it on under her clothes, just in case.

Ziva let out a rather loud and girlish laugh as Tony was knocked over by a small but powerful wave, his Hawaiian shirt now clinging to his torso. All he could do now was look at her. He had not seen her this happy...ever. For once, she looked like she was having a good time.

A young boy of about ten came gliding through, forcing Ziva to jump out of the way and bump into Tony and for him to come crashing to the ground again, this time taking her with him.

"Sorry, ma'am!" the kid yelled out.

She just laughed some more. She did not remember being like this with many people before, if anyone, and she certainly did not remember the last time she had so much fun.

On the beach, under the shade of a beach umbrella, Jeanne Benoit sighed. Even on her vacation, she couldn't seem to catch a break. He had broken her heart and only a few months later, she sees him with some exotic beauty. She did not believe that none of it had been real for him. The look in his eyes when he told her he loved her, the candlelit dinners they had shared, not all of it could have been a lie. And yet, he had never been this happy with her. She stared some more and then she recognised the woman, from NCIS, Tony's real workplace. His co-worker, really? How pathetic. She did not understand how you could love a person you work with. It just didn't make sense. She tried to ignore him, flicking through her Vogue magazine like she didn't care he was there at all.

Meanwhile Tony was enjoying himself, being close to Ziva in a way he had never imagined would happen. She was being normal and human. It was actually a pleasant change of character. Unfortunately, her brilliant eyesight spotted Jeanne on the beach and recognised her immediately, and she didn't doubt herself for a second. No, she would ruin _everything. _Ziva knew there was only one way to _ensure _that she didn't approach Tony and bring up the past. And also, she wanted revenge for making Tony nearly die and also for feeling so sad. She gulped and told herself she was doing this for him, not for her own personal benefits.

Then with a twirl, she planted a passionate kiss on his lips. Oddly, he did not seem shocked at all, in fact he acted completely in character. Ziva wondered if he knew Jeanne was sitting there.

Ziva's timing had been perfect. She had seen every second of it, and was furious. It was too much like a scene from a romance movie, which in this case seemed extremely appropriate. Her fingernails clawed her beach towel and her eyes formed slits behind her dark sunglasses.

"You think she bought it?" Tony whispered to her when she pulled away. Relief washed through Ziva. He had not thought the kiss was real. She was reminded of the time they were undercover married assassins together.

She laughed. "Don't get me wrong, I don't like her either but going that far would be cruel."

"Going how far?" Tony obviously wasn't on the same train of thought as her.

Ziva cringed. Suggesting that had been a _bad _idea. "Oops."


	3. Chapter 3

"It would really piss her off." Tony waggled his eyebrows playfully.

"For the last time, Tony, no!" Ziva replied.

"I told you once, I tell you again, it really would give your life a hell of a lot more meaning."

"That's a lie," she snapped. "And what is this? You cared about her, I know you did. Now you are acting like it was nothing."

"Everyone makes mistakes, Ziva. I am trying extremely hard to put it behind me and you're not making it easy."

"Sorry. What can I do?"

He stared at her for what felt like a long time, but in reality was only a few seconds. He beckoned with his finger for her to lean closer, and she did. He went on a nerve, hooked on something he was not supposed to have, and dared to request what he now craved.

"You can kiss me again."

He leaned in, gripping her hair at the back of her head. This kiss was immediately and noticeably different. It was soft and gentle, and Ziva could tell he was holding back. She pulled away, shocked at his sudden impulse. He was lucky not to be injured right now.

"Tony, I thought you understood. I was only trying to keep her away from you. I was looking out for you."

I do know that, but when you kissed me, I...I don't know, I just felt something that I had never felt before. I didn't even know it existed. Even as I'm speaking right now, I can't stop myself. All these emotions are just pouring out. Please, can't we just break Rule 12? Imagine it, the dinners, the walks on the beach, the movies we'd watch together..."

Ziva looked sympathetic. She had not seen Tony like this before, but now the look in his eyes was stealing all her attention. She could no longer feel the hot sun on her skin or the water lapping against her thighs.

"I want to, Tony, but we can't. Gibbs would find out, probably sooner than later, and we'll end up in serious trouble."

"You lost me at 'I want to'. Ziva—"

"Tony, stop, let's leave. This never would have happened if I hadn't worn this stupid bikini." She glanced down at her body.

"That's not true. I probably still would have convinced you to come here and you probably still would have seen Jeanne. And this has nothing to do with the bikini, which you look great in by the way. It's all you, Ziva. I love y—"

Ziva was not paying attention. She spotted Jenny's rental parked in the parking lot of the beach and needed to investigate. She wrapped a towel around her waist and hurried off to a public bathroom to change back into her clothes. Upon Tony's reluctant approach to the car and away from the water, he made a discovery, which they had somehow not spotted before. Police tape and officers surrounded the body of a young, blonde woman. Tony knew exactly what would happen: they would need an ID of the woman and then a frantic Ziva would call the Director, forgetting completely about the afternoon they had shared.

_C'est la vie. _

**A/N: So, I have decided to write one more chapter of this story. Thanks to everyone who has favourited and reviewed this story!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello, my friends! So, this will be the last chapter, I had originally intended to do a one-shot but thanks so much for all your reviews and stuff. **

"_Why don't you make yourself useful?"_

"_What do you want me do to, hold your nozzle?"_

The heat in this desert didn't bother Ziva, but it was certainly getting to Tony's head. They had been driving around for hours, and the happiness of the previous afternoon had been forgotten completely and replaced with stress and suspense. Those feelings were maximised when they (finally) pulled up to a lone diner. An SUV was parked out the front, and it looked awfully familiar.

_The car from the gas station._

They raced inside, guns at the ready. The room was a mess. Blood splashes and bodies everywhere, shell casings, a few weapons. Tony's brow furrowed. What was going on?

"Tony." Ziva called for him with a strange tone. It sounded like fear or sadness, two things that Ziva David was not known for.

And that's when he saw her. Their beloved Director lay limp and lifeless on the cold hard floor, blood pooling underneath her. Tony put an arm around her. She did not move away. She quite literally cried into his shoulder.

"That's good, Ziva," he said. She lifted her head and her brown eyes burned questioningly.

"What is good here, Tony? Jenny is dead, and it's our fault."

"It's not our fault. We did all we could. We followed orders and disobeyed them to make sure the Director was safe. No matter what we did, this was always gonna happen. I think it was beyond our power to stop it."

"And how is that 'good'?"

"What's good is that you're not trying to keep all this sadness inside of you. You're letting it out."

"It's weak."

"It's good for you. Being human is not weak. _You _are not weak. And I need you to stay that way, for me." He gripped her shoulders. "If you're not strong, I'm not strong either."

They both glanced at the body again. He kissed her hair, and she let him, not caring about anything but poor Jenny.

It was then that Ziva's cell phone rang. Abby was calling. Tony went to reject the call, but Ziva stopped him.

"She'll know something's up. She always does." She put the phone on speaker, not wanting to leave the warmth of Tony's arms around her. "Now is not a good time," she told the Goth.

"Nice to talk to you too," Abby replied, sounding a little discouraged. "So, how's LA? Is it hot?"

"Hot enough." It was only then that Ziva realised who she was really talking to and why Abby was really calling. The bathing suit!

"Abby, did you sneak that bathing suit into my bag?"

"Yep." It was odd; Ziva could picture Abby cringing on the phone back in her lab. This was another emotion to add to Ziva's feelings at that point in time.

"Goodbye, Abby. I will speak to you later." Ziva hung up the phone and reluctantly called Gibbs. He needed to know.

"Gibbs," he answered.

"Hi Gibbs."

"Ziva, what's up?"

She gulped. "It's Jenny."

"What about Jenny?"

"She's...uh..."

"Spit it out, Ziva."

"She's dead."

Silence.

"Gibbs?"

Silence.

"Gibbs, please answer me!"

"I'll be there soon. Stay where you are. Where are you?"

Ziva told him the location and Gibbs ended the call. He was incredibly good at hiding it, but she knew he was devastated and that he loved Jenny.

_Later, back in DC..._

"Paris. That's when it must have happened. It makes sense." Tony seemed sure that something had happened between Gibbs and Jenny.

Endless days, constantly putting your lives into each other's hands. Not to mention the long nights." Ziva definitely agreed with him.

"It was inevitable."

"Nothing is inevitable."

"Nothing, Ziva? You think everything is somehow avoidable?"

"If you are strong, if you can resist temptation."

"Does that make Gibbs and Jenny weak?"

"No, that makes them young at the time."

"Young like us?"

"Tony, don't do this. Not now."

"You say 'not now', but when, Ziva? This, us, is inevitable."

"You're only saying that because of what happened in LA, at the beach."

"I know that kiss was to keep Jeanne away, and I know you regret it, probably now more than ever, but I also know that you actually had a good time that afternoon we spent together."

"You're right. I had fun with you but that's all changed now."

"Ziva, we've lost Jenny but _we _haven't changed. We're still us, and right now we need each other more than ever."

"Inevitable," she whispered as Tony pulled her in for a kiss. The touch of his lips made her unable to pull away.

And from outside, Leroy Jethro Gibbs watched his two agents. He did nothing except smile. They were young. Different in many ways to him and Jenny, but similar too. In any event, even though he had Rule 12, he wished that their relationship didn't end the same way his and Jenny's did.


End file.
